St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1887-01-29
SOME MAGAZINE ARTICLES.
PLAISANCE LA

PLAISANCE LA.
Sir In the October number of the
Century Mathew Arnold, an eminent
poet and writer, advocates the teaching
Of religion after the fashion OF the
France of to day, i. g., of the AgnostlC
Democratic Republic. The shadow is
TO be taught minus the substance in a
protestant undress suit. We may ac-
cording to Mathew, go on eating still,
but no ritual, nothing concrete is need
fnl, no table clothes, no knives, no
forks, naked bare morality is to
masquerade in the guise of religion ;
food is to be administered without con-
diments; man must learn, or may be
taught, TO dance shaker fashion, but,
religion worthy of the name cannot be
taught in the abstract only, 1t is bound
to have an environment as an egg is
bOnnd to have shell.
The most eXasperating sort of lie is
that which lies just, outside of the lines
OF truth and that's the form Mathew
Arnold would have religion assume.
It's this bastard sort that Arnold of
Rugby, Thos. Carlyle, Stewart Mill,
Ffoude, Geo. Eliot and others have
been the apostles Of in England, but
we may take comfort, the leading spi-
rits of the Cult have departed and have
left no successors. Even now, it is dis
puted whether Carlyle could be said to
have had any religion. One authority
answers yea, another says nay.
DIR. Augustus Jersop writes a lively
article in the Nineteenth Century on
letters and letter writing. Women for
the most part, excel the Sterner sex in
this delightful accomplishments, Many
will recall lady Duff Gordons admit
rable ones from Egypt. AS DR.. Jersop
ia RI tNf.S
taneous, unaffected, clear, lucid, flow
ing; it should display no signs of eff
Tort; perfect dress is one which fits
so squarely to the figure and iarmonizes
so precisely with the individual that we
hardly realize that the person Is dressed
ut all, but as soon as any single point
In the apparel attracts attention the
agreeable illusion of hOmOgenlety dis
appears. person and dress no longer CO.
incide, either the dress assumes more
Importance than the person, or the per-
son rises uuduely above the level of the
dress, and SO it is in the make OF a
pleasant eDistle.
Mr.. Wakefield, of New Zealand.
.cleverly disposes of j. A. Froude.
Every one now knows his English His
tory to be il pure romance. Some time
ago Prof. Freeman demolished his
memoir of Thomas A. Beckett. Who used
not to believe that Beckett was haugh-
ty unbending prelate, an untiinching
advocate of prlestcraft, Henry the
second of England, a King fighting for
the dignity and liberty Of his Crown
and realm This is the view Froude
deliberately advocates yet bow untrue
tue assumption proves to be when the
light derived from careful inspection
pf original documents is turned upon
lit, Freeman finds no trouble in tearing
Ftoude's view to tatters showing be-
lyond dispute how he has paltered with
the evidence eXtant in the national
archives on purpose to support his
position against Beckett and against
the Judgment of the, living English
people who recognized in Beckett their
champion in life, aud, along with all
Europe venerated his relics after his
death.
The venerable legends of our youth
are rapidly disappearing beneath Il
veritable scientific study Of history.
The old Beckett makes way for the
new and true man. The prisoner of
Chillon himself vanishes into space.
There was no prisoner, such as Byron
dreamt of when he wrote his beautiful
poem The real prisoner, proves to
have been, from the unearthed records
of the time, il common bacchanalian
ropsterbout placed in duress for causes
which had nothing in the world to do
with religion.
The Irish question occupies much
space in the magazines. The article
" Wanted Leader" is good specimen
of the run. To read it is like listening
to a Sonata, it displays rare tiuency, the
words skim in marshalled troops light /
lv along. and yet its points are few the !
nice embellishments of the frame work |
render us tolerant of the poverty of it's |
structure. 1t is certainly |
worth reading as study Of fluent
English written by kindly disposed !
sort Of man evidently in a condition OF !
mild wax. Ed. Dizzy, another polit-
clan, is very different sort of man to
the above. He writes like the Centu-
rion in the scriptures as one having
authority He is disappointed, like
many English people. that Lord Hart
Inet0n, the Wing Chief, did not join
The Conservative Cabinet, or form one
If his own out of IFS elements as was
to him. He possibly found he
could not carry his following along.
N. GoscIen. the great financier, said he
vo,ld not ioin Il Conservative govern
nent anyhow. Lord Harrington is
more of the ideal party leader than NJ.
Tosclien appears to be at present,
,hough in the English election cam
,aign he has developed leading quail
ties. :,
Some Of the high class liberal states
nen most likely grudged a sacrifice
which seemed to convey away for al
ndefnite period the governing power
q Conservatism. No doubt. they re-
,aembered that Lord Churchill was the
most prominent man OF his party after
,ord Salisbury, Lord Churchill, among
ligh class liberals has few. friends they
ook upon him as an lnterloper on
heir preserves, a sort of political .
II will erelong be seen by all England